Roush drivers, Ford have thrived at wide Michigan

Jack Roush and Michigan International Speedway. They go together like Detroit and the automobile.

Or in this case, Detroit and Ford.

Roush Fenway Racing, the flagship for Ford in NASCAR, has won six of the past 13 Sprint Cup races at Michigan. In June, four of Roush's five drivers finished in the top 10. The next race in the Sprint Cup Series is Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at MIS.

Fast facts

What	3M Performance 400
When	2 p.m. ET Sunday
TV	ESPN, 1 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 1:15 ET

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• By the Numbers: Michigan

"Michigan is a kind of bragging rights track," said Roush driver Carl Edwards, who has one win and seven top-10 finishes in eight races at the 2-mile oval. "It's in Roush's backyard [and] Ford's backyard, so another win there would be huge."

Ford drivers have won 29 of the past 49 races at MIS. Roush Fenway Racing drivers have been Ford's most successful throughout that period with 10 victories since Mark Martin won the team's first in 1990. Edwards was the last Ford winner, in 2007.

"I always say Darlington is my favorite racetrack, but Michigan is becoming a close second," Edwards said. "Michigan has a lot of personal history for me, and I'm always glad to go there. It's where I made my first Cup start, where I made my 100th start and where I broke a 52-race winless streak with a win in June of last year.

"It's a great track with some really awesome racing. You can pass, and I think the fans always see a good show there."

After living near Roush's headquarters in Livonia, Mich., for two years, Greg Biffle knows the importance of running well at MIS. He has delivered, too; he has four wins for Roush at Michigan -- two in the Cup Series and two in the Craftsman Truck Series.

"I lived in Michigan for a couple of years when I first started racing the trucks for Roush in 1998 and 1999," Biffle said. "It's always great to win in Michigan because it's kind of the home track for Ford and Roush Industries."

Listening to Biffle talk about Michigan is like listening to Edwards.

"Michigan has always been one of my favorite tracks on the circuit," Biffle said. "It's fast, and it allows for a lot of passing because it is so wide. We won back-to-back races there in 2004 and 2005, and I think that a win this weekend is a reasonable goal."

Matt Kenseth also has two Cup wins for Roush at Michigan. With 12 top-10s in 18 races at the track, Kenseth is looking at Michigan as an opportunity to continue his surge in the point standings. He re-entered the top 12 last week at Watkins Glen.

"Michigan is a track that we've been pretty strong at in the past," Kenseth said. "Michigan and the next several races are some of my favorites for sure. Michigan, Bristol, Fontana and Richmond are some of my favorite tracks, and I always look forward to this stretch of races."

Those are the last four races before the field for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set. Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are the only two drivers who have made the Chase every year since it began in 2004.

"Everyone is going Chase-crazy these days and are really focusing on points and standings," Kenseth said. "For me, I just go out every week and try to get the best finish I can. If I do that the rest takes care of itself. And really, it doesn't matter where you are in points until after Richmond."

Notes: In the past 18 races there have been 14 different winners. ... Bobby Labonte will be back in the No. 43 Dodge a week after a hard crash at Watkins Glen (read more). Labonte has been cleared by doctors to race.